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Summary Here we investigated the effect of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) on postharvest quality of mulberry fruit and possible underlying mechanisms. Endogenous H2S content first increased after harvest and then decreased sharply with the process of ripening and senescence. A fumigation with H2S released from 0.8 mm NaHS solution could significantly enhance the endogenous H2S content by increasing the activities of D‐cysteine desulfhydrase and L‐cysteine desulfhydrase. NaHS could significantly slow down the ripening rate of mulberry fruit and reduce the respiratory intensity and anthocyanin content. Moreover, H2S fumigation was able to obviously delay or slow down the decreases in soluble protein, titratable acidity and ascorbate contents. Further results showed that activities of representative antioxidant enzymes in H2S‐treated sample were higher than those of control samples during storage, resulting in a decrease in superoxide anion production. Together, these results clearly indicate that H2S fumigation has a potential role in the preservation of mulberries.

There are limited data concerning the role of endogenous HS in prolonging the postharvest of vegetables and fruits. Using a fluorescence microscope with a specific probe, we discovered that, during the senescence of postharvest daylily flower, endogenous HS homeostasis was impaired. The activities of two important synthetic enzymes of HS, l- and d-cysteine desulfhydrase, exhibited decreasing tendencies. However, NaHS (a HS donor) not only blocked the decreased HS production but also extended the postharvest life of daylilies. These beneficial roles were verified by the alleviation of lipid peroxidation and the increased activities of antioxidant enzymes. Meanwhile, the energy status was sustained, and the respiration rate was decreased. In contrast to NaHS, the addition of an inhibitor of HS synthesis alone aggravated lipid peroxidation and lowered energy charge. Together, the present study implies that endogenous HS alleviates senescence of postharvest daylilies via increasing antioxidant capacity and maintained energy status.

Purple pigments were isolated from mulberry extracts using preparative high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) and identified by ESI-MS/MS and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques. The solvent system containing methyl tert-butyl ether, 1-butanol, acetonitrile, water, and trifluoroacetic acid (10:30:10:50:0.05; %, v/v) was developed in order to separate anthocyanins with different polarities. Cyanidin 3-O-(6″-O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-β-galactopyranoside) (also known as keracyanin) is the major component present in mulberry (41.3%). Other isolated pigments are cyanidin 3-O-(6″-O-α-rhamnopyranosyl-β-glucopyranoside) and petunidin 3-O-β-glucopyranoside. The binding characteristics of keracyanin with human serum albumin (HSA) were investigated by fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Spectroscopic analysis reveals that HSA fluorescence quenched by keracyanin follows a static mode. Binding of keracyanin to HSA mainly depends on van der Waals force or H-bonds with average binding distance of 2.82 nm. The results from synchronous fluorescence, three-dimensional fluorescence, and CD spectra show that adaptive structure rearrangement and decrease of α-helical structure occur in the presence of keracyanin.

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Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora (Ecc), the causal agent of bacterial soft rot, is one of the destructive pathogens of postharvest vegetables. In this study, a bacterial isolate (BGP20) from the vegetable farm soil showed strong antagonistic activity against Ecc in vitro, and its twofold cell-free culture filtrate showed excellent biocontrol effect in controlling the postharvest bacterial soft rot of potatoes at 25 °C. The anti-Ecc metabolites produced by the isolate BGP20 had a high resistance to high temperature, UV-light and protease K. Based on the colonial morphology, cellular morphology, sporulation, and partial nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA and gyrB gene, the isolate BGP20 was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum. Further in vivo assays showed that the BGP20 cell culture was more effective in controlling the postharvest bacterial soft rot of green peppers and Chinese cabbages than its twofold cell-free culture filtrate. In contrast, the biocontrol effect and safety of the BGP20 cell culture were very poor on potatoes. In the wounds of potatoes treated with both the antagonist BGP20 and the pathogen Ecc, the viable count of Ecc was 31,746 times that of BGP20 at 48 h of incubation at 25 °C. But in the wounds of green peppers, the viable count of BGP20 increased 182.3 times within 48 h, and that of Ecc increased only 51.3 %. In addition, the treatment with both BGP20 and Ecc induced higher activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) than others in potatoes. But the same treatment did not induce an increase of PAL activity in green peppers. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that the isolate BGP20 is a promising candidate in biological control of postharvest bacterial soft rot of vegetables, but its main mode of action is different among various vegetables.